Blue Steel Hits The Big Time: Derek Zoolander Lands First Vogue Cover

The male model is serving some serious blue-steel on the cover of US Vogue, alongside Penelope Cruz.

Derek Zoolander is the cover star for February’s issue of Vogue, alongside Penelope Cruz. With Zoolander 2 hitting cinemas on February 12th it’s about time the ridiculously good-looking male model landed on the cover of the world’s biggest style magazine and inside actor Ben Stiller spills on getting some of fashion’s biggest names onboard for the comedy.

Of course Stiller as Zoolander is giving his best blue-steel on the Vogue cover, a look the actor has now become famous for. “That look came out of me in the mirror at home, when I brush my hair or whatever,” Stiller tells the mag.

“I guess with the selfie culture, it’s just a natural extension. Did I have any idea that it would live on? No.” The actor added that now he’s back playing Zoolander, “it’s hard for me to not do it when somebody wants to take a picture with me. I just go into it, like a trained dog.”

Zoolander 2 will feature even more cameos than the original, with Kanye West, Kim Kardashian and Justin Bieber all rumoured to be making appearances. But there’s also some real-life fashion designers to spot, including Marc Jacobs who appears in the film as himself.

“I was thrilled to say yes to Ben,” Jacobs told Vogue. “I thought the first one was hilarious.” But the one fashion icon who’s missing from the movie is Karl Lagerfeld, something which Stiller regrets. “We didn’t get Karl Lagerfeld. I would have liked to get Karl. I came close,” the actor revealed.

“He’s iconic,” Stiller added “It breaks my heart. Maybe if we ever do another. . . .” The world first realised that Zoolander 2 was a reality during Paris Fashion week last March when Stiller and Wilson walked the runway as Derek and Hansel.

“I kept saying, ‘Why are we even being secretive?” Still said, recalling the lead-up to their runway appearance. “It’s not so big a deal . . . we’re going to walk out there to a smattering of applause." Wilson added that the reaction from the crowd was “the best reaction you could have imagined.”

While Zoolander wasn’t a big hit at the box-office it went on to become a cult hit on DVD, but in the beginning movie execs weren’t sure the film would ever be a success. “It wasn’t like a slam-dunk movie idea,” Stiller said.

“For the most part, we were on our own—both in the fashion world and with the studio, too. They were just like, ‘We don’t quite know what this is.’ Would a studio make Zoolander 1 today? It’s hard to know. It’s a quirky, weird movie,” the actor added.